Daniel Tupý
Encyclopedia
Daniel Tupý is the largest borough of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Situated on the right bank of the river Danube, it is home to approximately 150,000 people.-History:Historical records of Petržalka exist from 1225...
, Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
) was a Slovak
Slovaks
The Slovaks, Slovak people, or Slovakians are a West Slavic people that primarily inhabit Slovakia and speak the Slovak language, which is closely related to the Czech language.Most Slovaks today live within the borders of the independent Slovakia...
university student from Žilina
Žilina
Žilina is a city in north-western Slovakia, around from the capital Bratislava, close to both the Czech and Polish borders. It is the fourth largest city of Slovakia with a population of approximately 85,000, an important industrial center, the largest city on the Váh river, and the seat of a...
. His violent death shocked the Slovak media and public, and aimed the public attention at the violence and growing dangers of the various Slovak extremist groups.
Life
Daniel was born and raised in ŽilinaŽilina
Žilina is a city in north-western Slovakia, around from the capital Bratislava, close to both the Czech and Polish borders. It is the fourth largest city of Slovakia with a population of approximately 85,000, an important industrial center, the largest city on the Váh river, and the seat of a...
. After graduating from high school, he entered the Comenius University and moved to Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
.
Death
On November 4, 2005, Tupý was with his friends at the Tyršovo embankment of the DanubeDanube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
in Petržalka
Petržalka
Petržalka ) is the largest borough of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Situated on the right bank of the river Danube, it is home to approximately 150,000 people.-History:Historical records of Petržalka exist from 1225...
when a group of neo-nazis suddenly attacked them from behind. During the attack Tupý suffered multiple stabs
Stabbing
A stabbing is penetration with a sharp or pointed object at close range. Stab connotes purposeful action, as by an assassin or murderer, but it is also possible to accidentally stab oneself or others.Stabbing differs from slashing or cutting in that the motion of the object used in a stabbing...
in the back and was pronounced dead upon arrival at hospital. His friends were "just" beaten up; they fully recovered later. The true cause of the attack was never clarified, however multiple witnesses confessed that neo-Nazis attacked them because Tupý (being a rocker) had long hair, black clothes and a guitar with him. The media attention made resolving the case the top priority of the Slovak police, however his attackers were not identified. The police claimed that they knew who the perpetrators were, but that they had insufficient evidence to arrest them.
On the first anniversary of his death, the Comenius University edited his poems into a book, which they titled "Ticho po anjelovi" ("Silence after the angel"). The Slovak interior minister
Interior minister
An interior ministry is a government ministry typically responsible for policing, national security, and immigration matters. The ministry is often headed by a minister of the interior or minister of home affairs...
, Robert Kaliňák
Robert Kalinák
Robert Kaliňák is a Slovak politician, formerly served as Interior Minister of Slovakia in the government of Prime Minister Robert Fico. He is currently a member of parliament. He studied Law at Univerzita Komenského in Bratislava....
held a speech, where he claimed that the "perpetrators can not feel safe themselves". Concerts were also organized and held to commemorate his death. A memorial to the victims of racism and neo-Nazism was also erected, and unveiled at Bratislava's Tyršovo embankment on November 16, at the site of the murder. Numerous mass marches against racism were also held throughout November in Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
, Košice
Košice
Košice is a city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary...
, Zvolen
Zvolen
Zvolen |Slatina]] rivers, close to Banská Bystrica. With its ancient castle, the town has a historical center, which represents the seat of an okres .-History:...
and Prešov
Prešov
Prešov Historically, the city has been known in German as Eperies , Eperjes in Hungarian, Fragopolis in Latin, Preszów in Polish, Peryeshis in Romany, Пряшев in Russian and Пряшів in Rusyn and Ukrainian.-Characteristics:The city is a showcase of Baroque, Rococo and Gothic...
, and more have been held since.
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
some time before the arrests. The number of suspects quickly rose to six. An unrevealed witness confessed in April 2008 that one of the suspects committed the murder, attacking Tupý from behind with two knives in his hand, practically executing him. The witness also claimed that Tupý's friends were attacked by at least six other neo-Nazis.
The five living suspects were arrested in a local bar, from where they often went to "clean up" the neighbourhood. One of them later allegedly linked to the Bratislava mafia
Slovak mafia
Slovak mafia constitutes various organized crime groups in Slovakia, controlled primarily by Slovak interests. Slovak mafia does not have significant international presence and even in Slovakia, their activities are limited by boundaries set by the powerful Russian mafia and various Balkan groups...
.
The statistics in 2005 showed a number of (at least) 121 crimes as "racially or ethnically motivated" or "motivated by some extremist cause", and 82 were resolved. 25 of them were actual physical abuse, including Tupý and his friends' case. Such attacks are mainly targeted at Roma people, however the other minorities, most commonly the Hungarians
Hungarians in Slovakia
Hungarians in Slovakia are the largest ethnic minority of the country, numbering 520,528 people or 9.7% of population . They are concentrated mostly in the southern part of the country, near the border with Hungary...
have also fallen victims of such attacks. The most recent racially motivated attack, which gained huge media attention and eventually had an impact
2006 Slovak-Hungarian diplomatic affairs
The Slovak-Hungarian diplomatic affairs of 2006 were a series of ethnic and diplomatic affairs between Slovakia and Hungary. Although the rights of the Hungarians living in Slovakia are protected by international law, a chain of incidents happened in the summer of 2006...
on the Slovakian-Hungarian relations was Hedvig Malina
Hedvig Malina
Hedvig Malina is an ethnic Hungarian student from Horné Mýto , Slovakia, who was physically assaulted allegedly in a hate crime incident. Her case represents a highly controversial and debated issue of Hungarian-Slovak relations.-Claim of violence:...
's case.
Literature
- Tupý, Daniel: "Ticho po anjelovi", Bratislava, Univerzita Komenského, 2006, ISBN 80-223-2257-1 (63 pages, posthumus)
Sources
- Szlovák emlékművet avatnak a szélsőségek áldozatainak, Találjuk ki Közép-Európát?, 2005 (HungarianHungarian languageHungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
) - Rok po smrti Daniela Tupého vychádza kniha jeho veršov, SME.sk, October 30, 2006 (SlovakSlovak languageSlovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...
) - Uplynul rok od zavraždenia Daniela Tupého, Bleskovsky, November 11, 2006 (SlovakSlovak languageSlovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...
) - Kaliňák: Tupého vrahovia sa nemôžu cítiť bezpečne, SME.sk, November 4, 2006 (SlovakSlovak languageSlovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...
) - Letartóztatták Daniel Tupý gyilkosait Bumm.sk, February 27, 2008 (HungarianHungarian languageHungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
) - Culture shocks, The Slovak SpectatorThe Slovak SpectatorThe Slovak Spectator is Slovakia's only English-language newspaper.It is published weekly by The Rock, s.r.o. publishing house and covers local news, culture and business...
, November 27, 2006 (EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
) - Neo-Nazis won't just go away, Slovak Spectator, October 15, 2007 (EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
) - Daniel Tupý gyilkosa tanúként vallott egy másik gyilkosságban, parameter.sk, April 24, 2008 (HungarianHungarian languageHungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
) - Four accused in student's slaying, The Slovak SpectatorThe Slovak SpectatorThe Slovak Spectator is Slovakia's only English-language newspaper.It is published weekly by The Rock, s.r.o. publishing house and covers local news, culture and business...
, March 3, 2008 (EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
) - Three youths charged in murder of Daniel Tupý, The Slovak SpectatorThe Slovak SpectatorThe Slovak Spectator is Slovakia's only English-language newspaper.It is published weekly by The Rock, s.r.o. publishing house and covers local news, culture and business...
, March 18, 2008 (EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
) - Mafia man may be behind Tupý murder, The Slovak SpectatorThe Slovak SpectatorThe Slovak Spectator is Slovakia's only English-language newspaper.It is published weekly by The Rock, s.r.o. publishing house and covers local news, culture and business...
, February 28, 2008 (EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
) - Tupý's commemorating page on his former high school's webpage, pictures of him and his funeral. (SlovakSlovak languageSlovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...
)